Written Answers Friday 12 October 2007

Scottish Executive

Cities

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings have been held with Glasgow City Council to discuss the future of the Cities Growth Fund.

John Swinney: The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing and I have discussed the Cities Growth Fund, amongst other things, with Glasgow City Council in meetings on 2 October and 22 August respectively. Officials from councils in receipt of Cities Growth Fund and the Scottish Government meet periodically to discuss issues around the fund, most recently on 21 August 2007.

Cities

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings are planned with Glasgow City Council to discuss the future of the Cities Growth Fund.

John Swinney: No meetings are currently planned with Glasgow City Council to discuss the future of the Cities Growth Fund.

Cities

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is intended to continue the Cities Growth Fund beyond 2008.

John Swinney: Decisions on the future of the Cities Growth Fund are being considered in the spending review. It would not be appropriate for me to comment in advance of the outcome of that review.

Electricity

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with Ofgem regarding grid connection charges and whether consideration has been given to a specific exemption for the non-carbon producing sector, including the nuclear industry.

Jim Mather: The First Minister met the Chair and Chief Executive of Ofgem on 20 September 2007. He made the case for a fundamental reform of the transmission charging regime. The Scottish Government is seeking an end to unfair barriers to Scottish generators, including the renewables sector.

  The Scottish Government is opposed to the development of new nuclear power stations in Scotland. Therefore we will not be pressing for measures than would specifically favour the nuclear power sector.

Electricity

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the applicants for the Beauly to Denny overhead transmission line regarding the use of cross-linked polyethylene insulation technology for underground cabling.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government has had no discussions with Scottish and Southern Energy PLC or Scottish Power Transmission Limited regarding the use of cross-linked polyethylene insulation technology for underground cabling.

  The on-going public local inquiry into the proposed Beauly to Denny power line has heard a significant amount of evidence from the applicants and other parties regarding the technical aspects of undergrounding high voltage cable. This has included reference to the use of cross-linked polyethylene cables.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients from Scotland have been treated elsewhere in the European Union under the E112 scheme in each of the last five years.

Nicola Sturgeon: Patients may receive treatment in other member states of the European Economic Area and in Switzerland through the E112 referral scheme, in accordance with Regulation (EEC) 1408/71. This regulation coordinates the social security and healthcare schemes of the member states.

  Information about patients is only available on an England, Scotland and Wales basis and the number of people referred abroad using the E112 procedure is shown in the following table:

  

Year
Number


2002
1,120


2003
1,052


2004
353


2005
228


2006
357



  Note: The drop in referrals from 2004 is due to the change in European Commission healthcare rules that took place that year. Since 1 June 2004, patients no longer need an E112 for the on-going care of pre-existing medical conditions. This is now covered on the European Health Insurance Card.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what would constitute undue delay in order for a patient to be referred for treatment, paid for by the NHS, elsewhere in the European Union.

Nicola Sturgeon: Every resident of a member state of the European Economic Area has the right to seek treatment in another member state if it cannot be provided at home without undue delay. In Scotland this means the treatment must therefore be one available through the NHS.

  An assessment of "undue delay" must be based on an objective medical assessment of the person concerned, taking into account all relevant factors, NHS boards should consider requests to be referred for treatment overseas on a case-by-case basis taking account of the best interests of the patient.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether dental patients in Scotland who face undue delay in accessing an NHS dentist would be entitled to free dental treatment elsewhere in the European Union under the E112 scheme.

Nicola Sturgeon: Every resident of a member state of the European economic area has the right to seek treatment in another member state if it cannot be provided at home without undue delay. In Scotland this means the treatment must therefore be one available through the NHS.

  As it is difficult to establish after the event whether any dental treatment undertaken abroad was clinically necessary and of a sort that would have been provided by the NHS, boards should normally only consider reimbursing patients if an NHS treatment plan had been completed prior to the patient going abroad for treatment.

  Boards would also consider limiting reimbursement to the average cost for the equivalent NHS course of treatment, or the actual cost of treatment overseas if this was lower. Any patient charges paid would be deducted from any refund.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what treatments available in other EU countries can be accessed by patients from Scotland and reimbursed under the E112 scheme.

Nicola Sturgeon: A patient may be eligible to have the cost of treatment in another member state of the European economic area reimbursed if that treatment is normally available from their own health board. In addition, a patient could be granted permission to receive specialist treatment that is not available in Scotland, provided the patient’s health board were willing to fund it.

Housing

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to review the practice by landlords of inviting competing offers when renting residential property.

Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government does not have any plans to review this practice. We are aware of a small proportion of landlords inviting competing rent offers. However, private landlords are free to set rent levels at market rates as long as the tenancy began after 2 January 1989.

  The Scottish Government has taken steps to improve standards in the private rented sector and to encourage private landlords to follow best practice. For example, I recently announced that the Scottish Government will provide funding for a National Voluntary Landlord Accreditation Scheme. This will require member landlords and letting agents to follow good practice in letting property.

Manufacturing

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it will give to manufacturing industry.

Jim Mather: Scottish Ministers provide a wide range of support to manufacturing companies. This includes financial support, innovation grants, help with trade overseas, practical support for companies to improve productivity and efficiency and business and product planning services delivered through our enterprise agencies and Scottish Development International. In addition, our Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service delivers specialist advice to manufacturing companies in Scotland.

  We will also seek to gain their support for tax powers and the setting of a more competitive rate of Corporation Tax in line with our manifesto commitment.

NHS Hospitals

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the hospital parking charges review group will take evidence from relevant organisations, including local authorities.

Nicola Sturgeon: The review group met for the first time on 2 October 2007 and is due to report by the end of November. The group has agreed arrangements to seek the views of patients, the public and staff.

NHS Hospitals

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive which voluntary organisation will be represented on the hospital parking charges review group and why this organisation was chosen.

Nicola Sturgeon: Macmillan Cancer Support have been invited to join the review group in view of their knowledge and experience through the Better Dealcampaign on the cost of travel and car parking. (Details about the Better Dealcampaign can be found at:  http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Get_Involved/Campaigns/Better_deal_Travel_and_parking_costs/Travel_and_parking_costs.aspx ).

NHS Hospitals

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the hospital parking charges review group will take account of other government strategies, including the climate change programme, in its recommendations.

Nicola Sturgeon: The group will take full account of the statutory and policy context, including the National Transport Strategy for Scotland. This sets out the Government’s long-term vision, objectives, priorities and plans, and specifically provides for "all local authorities and major hospitals and health facilities to have operational travel plans by April 2008". It will also take account of the environmental management policy for NHSScotland which requires that:

  "An NHSScotland body’s environmental management strategy must include measures aimed at promoting more sustainable travel choices through the implementation of green travel plans, in association with local authorities".

NHS Hospitals

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the effect of centralising hospital services and consequential impact on increased car use will be considered by the hospital parking charges review group.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has made it clear that there will be a presumption against centralisation of services. National guidance on major service change indicates that boards must ensure that any potentially adverse impact of a proposed service change on, for example, the travel arrangements of patients, carers, visitors and staff have been taken account of in the final proposal. This is an issue which revised guidance on car parking will need to take into account.

NHS Hospitals

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how the interests of hospital workers will be considered by the hospital parking charges review group.

Nicola Sturgeon: The review group includes staff side representatives to ensure that the group is fully aware of the views of staff about hospital car parking arrangements and charges.

NHS Hospitals

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how the interests of visitors and carers will be considered by the hospital parking charges review group.

Nicola Sturgeon: The review group includes patient and carer representatives nominated by the Scottish Health Council. The council has also agreed to ensure that the group is made fully aware of the views of patients in the five NHS board areas where hospital car parking charges have been introduced.

National Health Service

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many first appointments patients failed to attend at consultant-led out-patient clinics in NHS Tayside in the last year for which figures are available.

Nicola Sturgeon: Provisional figures for the year ended 31 March 2007 indicate that 8.8% of a total of 124,874 new outpatients in all specialties (excluding Accident and Emergency) did not attend their appointments in NHS Tayside.

National Health Service

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address the challenges of health service provision in rural and remote areas.

Nicola Sturgeon: We are currently awaiting the final report of the Remote and Rural Steering Group, established following the publication of Building a Health Service Fit for the Future. The group has been considering which services, diagnostics and treatments can be provided appropriately in remote and rural areas and how those services can be sustained over the long-term. The recommendations of the group will inform our new action plan for health and wellbeing due to published by the end of 2007.

National Health Service

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of health services in rural and remote areas.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Remote and Rural Steering Group established following the publication of Building a Health Service Fit for the Future is developing recommendations to ensure high quality, safe and sustainable services across remote and rural areas. In addition, the process of annual review for each NHS board allows Ministers to discuss progress on both key national targets and particular local issues.

National Health Service

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have been held between it and officials from NHS Highland about improving access to health care in rural and remote areas.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Chief Executive of NHS Highland is Chair of the National Remote and Rural Group which is developing future recommendations designed to sustain and develop health services in remote and rural areas of Scotland. This group has reported progress to Scottish Government Officials on a regular basis and its work was discussed during the Annual Review of NHS Highland chaired by the Minister for Public Health on 21 August 2007.

National Health Service

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what role the Scottish Health Council has in the option appraisal process to look at the new proposals for review of services brought forward by NHS Ayrshire and Arran.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Health Council does not have a role in the option appraisal process. However, the Council is providing a secretariat service to the Independent Scrutiny Panel, set up to look at the new proposals for review of services brought forward by NHS Ayrshire and Arran.

  One of the Scottish Health Council’s functions is to support the development of good practice in patient focus and public involvement and this would include general advice to NHS boards on involving the public in options development and appraisal.

Police

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers have been (a) served with a notification of intended prosecution and (b) admonished in each year since 2003, broken down by force.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many serving police officers have been convicted of criminal offences in each year since 1999, broken down by force.

Kenny MacAskill: Information on the occupation of persons proceeded against in Scottish courts is not held centrally.

Police

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the annual police budget is assigned to payments for information from informants and other sources.

Kenny MacAskill: None of the annual police budget is assigned to payments for information from covert human intelligence sources and other sources. Operational responsibility for payments to covert human intelligence sources rests with chief constables.

Rail Services

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the rolling stock required to provide a half-hourly rail service between Glasgow and Kilmarnock will be in place by spring 2009.

Stewart Stevenson: Subject to market availability, we expect that rolling stock to provide the service will be in place by spring 2009.

Rail Services

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional rolling stock will be required to provide a half-hourly rail service between Glasgow and Kilmarnock.

Stewart Stevenson: Two additional trains will be required to provide a half-hourly service.

Rail Services

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will purchase or lease the rolling stock required to provide a half-hourly rail service between Glasgow and Kilmarnock.

Stewart Stevenson: We expect the franchisee to lease additional rolling stock allowing trains to be cascaded across the First ScotRail franchise and a half-hourly rail service between Glasgow and Kilmarnock to be provided.

Rail Services

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it would cost to purchase the rolling stock required to provide a half-hourly rail service between Glasgow and Kilmarnock.

Stewart Stevenson: We have no plans to purchase the rolling stock required for a half-hourly rail service between Glasgow and Kilmarnock and have not therefore considered the cost of doing so. As with other rolling stock required to operate the ScotRail franchise, it is expected that any additional rolling stock required for the extra services between Glasgow and Kilmarnock will be leased by the Franchisee.

Rail Services

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what finance has been allocated to procure the rolling stock required to provide a half-hourly rail service between Glasgow and Kilmarnock.

Stewart Stevenson: We expect the franchisee to lease additional rolling stock allowing trains to be cascaded across the First ScotRail franchise and a half-hourly rail service between Glasgow and Kilmarnock to be provided. We will not therefore go through a procurement process and as such no finance has been allocated.

Scottish Enterprise

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation it has conducted with businesses in Fife on its proposal to abolish Scottish Enterprise Fife.

Jim Mather: We consulted with a broad cross section of the Scottish business community during the process to develop the enterprise networks reform proposals. No particular geographic areas were targeted.

Scottish Enterprise

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to consult on its plans to abolish Scottish Enterprise Fife.

Jim Mather: In pursuing our enterprise networks reform agenda we engaged in a significant period of discussion with stakeholders which represented a wide range of interests from across the business community, local authorities, trade unions and the enterprise networks themselves.

Scottish Enterprise

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which representatives of the business community in Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley were consulted on the changes to the enterprise networks.

Jim Mather: We consulted with a broad cross section of the Scottish business community during the process to develop the enterprise networks reform proposals. No particular constituencies were targeted, however, we did consult with the Chamber of Commerce whose membership has wide geographic coverage.

Scottish Enterprise

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which locations will deliver Business Gateway services in Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley under the revised enterprise network structure.

Jim Mather: Access to the Business Gateway is increasingly through the website reflecting customer choice. The provision of local advisory services will be a matter for the contractor appointed to run the Business Gateway service in Ayrshire. The contractor will however provide a part-time presence in Cumnock and is more generally required to ensure that customers across the full geography are provided with appropriate access to business events and advisory services.

Scottish Enterprise

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff will deliver Business Gateway advice in Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley under the revised enterprise network structure.

Jim Mather: This will be a matter for the contractors, Alba Smart Thinking, recently appointed to run the Business Gateway service in Ayrshire.

Scottish Enterprise

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish Enterprise staff will be relocated to Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley under the revised enterprise network structure.

Jim Mather: This will be an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise.

Scottish Enterprise

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is envisaged that local authorities will develop effective working relationships with chambers of commerce following reorganisation of the enterprise networks.

Jim Mather: This will be a matter for local authorities and the Chambers of Commerce between which they are already many examples of effective working relationships.

Scottish Enterprise

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional funding will be provided to (a) East Ayrshire Council and (b) South Ayrshire Council for local regeneration following reorganisation of the enterprise networks.

Jim Mather: This has not yet been determined but such matters will be taken into account in due course.

Scottish Enterprise

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what process will be put in place to recruit and appoint members to the regional advisory boards to be set up as part of the reorganisation of the enterprise network structure.

Jim Mather: Precise arrangements for membership of the regional business advisory boards will be subject to further consideration by Ministers. The principal objective will be to secure meaningful business involvement in the boards.

Scottish Enterprise

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what involvement trade unions will have in the regional advisory boards to be set up as part of the reorganisation of the enterprise network structure.

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what involvement the social enterprise sector will have in the regional advisory boards to be set up as part of the reorganisation of the enterprise network structure.

Jim Mather: Precise arrangements for membership of the regional business advisory boards will be subject to further consideration by Ministers. The principal objective will be to secure meaningful business involvement in the boards, however, appropriate wider representation will also be sought.

Scottish Enterprise

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007 on enterprise networks ( Official Report c. 2071), what consideration has been given to the role of the enterprise companies in supporting the creative industries.

Jim Mather: As the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth announced in the statement to Parliament, the enterprise networks will focus on supporting regionally and nationally significant sectors and businesses with growth potential.

  Further to this the Scottish Government is collectively considering how to best support the creative industries in Scotland, and we will make an announcement on this matter in due course. The Scottish Government is determined to play its role in creating the conditions for the sector to continue to flourish.

Trading Standards

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many complaints have been received by trading standards offices in each year since 1999, expressed also as a per capita figure and broken down by local authority.

Jim Mather: The information requested is not held centrally.